Bioscience/Biomedical Research at Idaho State University

Christopher Daniels, Ph.D.

Director, ISU Biomedical Research Institute and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Working with regional, national, and international research partners

in the academic and private sectors

ISU Biomedical Research Institute

• Focus on multidisciplinary, integrated research approaches to improved health care delivery – lab bench to the patient

• 22 Researchers from 6 academic divisions: Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biological Sciences, Psychology, Mathematics, Engineering, and Institute of Rural Health.

Research Facilities in IBRI• Molecular Research Core Facility

• Bioinformatics Laboratory

• Bioanalysis Laboratory

• Biological Imaging Laboratory

• Flow Cytometry Laboratory

IBRI Research Sections

• Behavioral and Neuroscience

• Cell Signaling and Communication

• Functional Genomics and Biotechnology

• Health Sciences and Engineering

Behavioral and Neuroscience

• Mechanisms of brain damage in Alzheimer’s disease and stroke

• Drug Addiction and alcoholism

• Molecular mechanisms in genetic movement disorders

• Behavioral disorders from food deprivation

Cell Signaling and Communication

• Cancer biology and

pharmacology

• Cardiovascular disease

• Diabetes

Molecular Research Core Facility

Functional Genomics and Biotechnology

• Infectious Disease• Molecular basis of

disease• Protein engineering• Extremophile novel

enzymes• Bioinformatics

• Biomedical signals and image processing.• Physiological systems modeling.• Medical Device development.• Working with partners such as the E-Med

Center of Excellence at the University of Western Australia, University of Seville, Spain, Princeton Autism Technology, NJ, and AMIS, Pocatello, ID.

Health Sciences and Engineering

Idaho Accelerator CenterHomeland Security: studying low-energy accelerator-produced radiation to neutralize bacterial agents (Biological Sciences, Physics, IAC)

Medical Imaging: enhanced medical imaging techniques using special accelerator produced x-rays. (IBRI, University of Western Australia, University of Singapore, Biomedical Technologies, Denver CO, Portneuf Medical Center, AMIS)

Collaborations with Industry

Biological Sciences and the Bioanalysis Laboratory are working with Idaho Trout

Company to develop new omega-fatty acid rich diets from dairy cow manure to enhance nutrition and heart health. Additionally may provide environmental remediation and a new market for S. Idaho dairy farms.

•Bioanalysis Laboratory

Providing analytical support for food composition analysis.

Drug Discovery

• IBRI is focused on understanding disease processes and drug discovery

• Development of novel nanoparticle biomaterials for drug delivery

• New anti-cancer agents from traditional Chinese and Central American native medicines.

• Novel anti-marlarial drug.